


Astral Hangover

by Aura X-Y (Aurya)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alcohol-Induced Idiocy, Bedmate Reveal, Did They or Didn't They, F/M, I have not seen The Hangover and am not trying to reference it, It Amused Me, Not What It Looks Like, Sorry for the Troper tags, The XV party is not a band of yaoi boys, What Did I Do Last Night?, Y'jhimei is not technically a XIV character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-01-20 18:43:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18530914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aura%20X-Y
Summary: When the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, and the finalization of that fate is imminent, you might need a moment to ready yourself. Have fun while you still have the chance. Spend some time with people you might never see again.Noctis learns the hard way that such a moment should not be spent intoxicated.





	1. Waking Up, Freaking Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Draco has nothing to do with this one; I'm just putting it under our cowriting username because I'm using his headcanons and basing stuff off his gameplay. And also to watch him squirm because he knows he doesn't have the balls to write something like this.
> 
> Okay, I've wanted to do a 'morning after a drunk time' story for a while. Draco's been playing XV again (he found out how to disable his DLC without initializing his PS4), and recently got disconnected from his console. And the way he acts when he's mid-game and separated from it is a laugh riot. He was pacing and complaining about the Garuda weapons and listening to Hastune Miku covers of Hallelujah and Sound of Silence from morning to midnight.  
> Sorry, that was kind of mean.  
> Anyways, XV's "army of rose gunners", as he calls the yaoi fandom, is outright depressing in its enormity, and the fact that Square is messing with them in the game is kind of mean. So that gave me the motivation to make that story I've been wanting to do a XV story.

Something was shining on Noctis' face.

His attempt to react thereto sent pain wracking through his body. His head was throbbing, his eyes were encrusted with sleep, his mouth was dry and tasted of something foul, and the entire right side of his body felt petrified. The time he spent trying to waken enough to form a conscious thought was spent subconsciously coming to the conclusion for why he was like this.

Noctis Lucis Caelum, 113th heir to the throne of Lucis, and Chosen King of the Crystal... was hung over.

 _What the hell happened?_ Noctis tried to recall his most recent events.  _The last thing I remember is Talcott picking me up at Galdin... and he took me to Hammerhead. Gladio and Ignis and Prompto were there... and we were gonna catch up at the caravan._ He tried to open his eyes again and found them fighting it, not only from the feeling of them being closed but also from the fact that he was facing a light source.  _This heat on my face... sunlight? Did I kill Ardyn while I was drunk?_ He managed to move his left hand, reaching it for his face and finding it bare.  _No, there's no beard... I must be in the astral memory._ This wasn't the first time he'd had Umbra take him to the Lucis of the past. His right arm felt cramped against something, and his left shoulder was off the edge of whatever surface he was on. _A bench of some kind? Or maybe the Regalia back seat-_

Something brushed against his face - something pointed and furred.

_Huh?_

Noctis wiped the crud out of his eyes, craning his neck to try and get his face out of the light as he forced them to open.

"...Y'jhimei?!"

"Hmm?" The sleeping cat-eared woman started to stir. "Huh? Where...?"

As she started to lift herself, Noctis felt her skin rub against his, and dread wracked him as he realized they were both stark naked. "Oh, no," he murmured. "Oh, no no no no."

"Noctis?" Y'jhimei raised her gaze. "Huh? What are you doing here? Where are we? What-  _Woah!_ " She tried to pull back and ended up toppling off of what was decidedly the back seat of a vehicle; as she turned to face him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Why are you-?! Why am **I** -!?"

"I don't know," Noctis insisted, curling up one leg in an attempt at modesty. "What happened last night?"

"I don't know!" Y'jhimei shrieked back. "You don't remember?"

"Agh! No, I don't remember," Noctis protested. "Don't you remember?"

Y'jhimei's expression went somewhere halfway between horrified and furious. "You absolutely do  **not** have permission to not remember the same things I don't remember especially when the results of your not remembering are so potentially life-shattering!"

Noctis went for his ears as she was screaming. "Don't yell so loud!"

"Why are you not freaking out!?" Y'jhimei demanded.

"I don't have the  _energy_ to freak out after whatever I drank when I got back," Noctis insisted. "I don't know how you cat-people react to alcohol, but a hangover makes us way too sensitive and way too sore."

"Miqo'te," Y'jhimei corrected.

" _Whatever_ ," Noctis muttered. He glanced around. "Where are we?"

Y'jhimei tried to shuffle herself out from between the back of the driver's seat and the rim of the back seat without uncovering her chest. "I don't know, but it's cramped," she muttered. "I think I'm sitting on our clothes. Can you go outside while I... get dressed..." She groaned displeasedly, closing her eyes and hanging her head. "I can't believe this."

"I don't  **want** to believe it," Noctis admitted, reaching for the driver-side door and popping it open.

And a  _chill_ rushed inside, earning a screech from Y'jhimei and a yell from Noctis before he slammed the door shut.

"Shit."  _How did I get to **Niflheim** in the astral memory?_

With some effort, Y'jhimei managed to get what looked like the jacket of Noctis' fatigues out from under her, using it to cover herself as she peered out the window. "Ice? Where the heck are- Oh, wait. Trees. Not icy trees. I think this is a lake or something."

 _Did I **freeze the Vesperpool**?_ Noctis' opinion of his situation wasn't improving.

Y'jhimei whimpered quietly. "There's barely enough room for one of us to get dressed in here," she muttered. "I don't want us to do something nasty trying to move around each other."

Noctis took a deep breath. "Give me that jacket, I'll wait outside."

"You sure?"

"Not really, but I can take it."

Y'jhimei handed him the jacket with one-hand; Noctis tied it around his waist like an impromptu kilt and quickly pushed the door open again. He managed to get out on his feet, just long enough to realize they were bare, and quickly pulled off the jacket to crouch upon it; as he turned back towards the vehicle, he realized it was not liking what he was seeing.

"Oh, please tell me this is your car," he pleaded.

"Close the door, it's freezing!" Y'jhimei insisted, slamming the door.

Noctis eyed the bright surface of what, on closer inspection, was definitely the Regalia.  _I really hope that's just the fiberglass coating reflecting all this ice._

* * *

Fortunately, they were the only ones on the frozen lake surface; once Y'jhimei and Noctis were both dressed, they took inventory of the Regalia. Neither of them could _smell_ any indicators of what they had been up to, but Noctis had his suspicions that it was because of the cold; the search for the royal tomb at Greyshire Glacial Grotto had taught him how poorly his nose worked in the cold. Turning the ignition revealed that the gas tank was at least half-full (which meant the car hadn't been running while they were asleep; Noctis had a newfound respect for Crown City auto manufacturers), and he decided to leave it on while they continued.

Searching his pockets revealed his phone was missing. Searching the car revealed _four_  Crownsguard-issue phones lying in the trunk, along with Prompto's camera. Y'jhimei's book was also absent, and was not so easily located. There was a chunk of unfamiliar ore under the brake pedal, large enough to stop the pedal from moving. The glove compartment was full of Oracle Ascension Coins, and discovering this left several scattered on the floor before the passenger seat. A magic flask full of Blizzard was in the cup holder. Several half-full cans of Ebony were wedged in the grill.

"I don't even **like** coffee," Noctis muttered, prying out the cans before they got too hot from the engine.

Y'jhimei regarded the lake. "This place looks like it got frozen in the middle of a storm," she observed. "Or while something huge got dropped in it."

"Do you see a path wide enough for us to drive out?" Noctis asked.

"Kind of," Y'jhimei confirmed, "but it looks like a bumpy ride."

Noctis sighed, rubbing at his temples.  _If this was frozen when I got here, I would have gone to Hammerhead and had Cindy remodel it to the off-road version before trying to drive on this thing. At least, I would have if I was sober. I really hope I haven't trashed the undercarriage._ "We've gotta find the others," he insisted, turning back to the car. "Let's get off this lake."

"Okay..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Quick summation of relevant headcanons:  
> -Noctis' Casual Outfit is disregarded. He wore the Prince's Fatigues most of his journey; the Trendy Outfit while he was in Lestallum, Greyshire, and while riding with Iris to Cape Caem; the Royal Raiment from Tenebrae to the Crystal and to his return to Hammerhead. (Draco says men's formalwear doesn't breathe, so I think that's the warmest outfit he has; his Casual Outfit jacket is a rainjacket, the Trendy Outfit jacket doesn't look heat-conserving, and those Assassin Robes are Bayek's and Altair's which means they're designed for hot regions).  
> -Close Encounter of the Terra Kind was a dream-with-effects-on-the-waking event in the manner of the Platinum Demo. Let's say Noct woke up at the haven outside Malmalum feeling bruised from the fight with the Eroder and quickly patched himself before Iris and the guys woke up (on second thought, him using her sword doesn't make sense).  
> -Cindy remodeled the Regalia to Type-D at least once sometime between Vesperpool and the departure for Altissia.  
> -Adventurers from Another World happened after the events at Vesperpool, on their way back to Caem. The "glamour prism" attires were not a thing, but Garuda got summoned at least once after the fact.  
> -Accounting for the Royal Edition, Noct going back to Lucis from Altissia is travel on the royal vessel and not change in the astral memory. They went back at least once before they spoke with Claustra, that was when they saw the adamantoise.  
> -He -did- go back through astral memory while he was in Tenebrae, but mostly for fishing sessions to help him cool his head. Noctis is the only one who actually remembers the astral memory when he comes back.


	2. Something There That Isn't There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Draco refuses to be that guy who raises a lot of big complaints about a good game. But EVERY time he plays an RPG, I find him jotting down small little complaints about minor points about gameplay. Like, for XV, he loves the story, he loves the gameplay of the base game, he loves the gameplay of all the DLC episodes. But he complains about the uneven distribution of the weapon DLC. Two versions of the Blazefire Saber that are swords, no DLC shields, only a pistol from Episode Prompto. He thinks there should have been a crossover weapon for every category.
> 
> Complaining about the Moogle Chocobo Carnival and Assassin's Festival being limited-time events is a more reasonable thing, though. He figures they should be annual events since they're in-series celebrations, but I think it would make more sense to just have them be permanently accessible, all the other crossovers are. I kinda-sorta understand MMOs having limited-time events because that means continual upkeep on limited servers, but DLC for an offline game shouldn't be restricted to those who got the game on or near launch day. Or at least have a re-run when you rerelease the game like the Royal Edition did.

The Regalia's GPS confirmed that the frozen lake where she was parked was the Vesperpool. Maneuvering to the shore was manageable enough and didn't entail any unpleasant grinding from the undercarriage; away from the ice, Noctis realized that it was not just a reflection on the fiberglass coating, but that his car had been painted _bright blue_. From there, Noctis drove out the tunnel in the direction of Meldacio, with Y'jhimei in the passenger seat.

"Do, um... Do you remember leaving Perpetouss Keep?" Noctis asked.

"Uh... no," Y'jhimei admitted. "I don't."

"Then we should start by looking there," Noctis mused. "Maybe we'll find some clues as to what happened."

Y'jhimei sighed. "I guess that's one way to do it."

Quiet for a bit as they drove through the Hunter HQ, continuing into a second tunnel.

"Hey, Noctis?" The Miqo'te seemed mildly concerned.

"Yeah?"

"Were you wearing that ring before...?"

Noctis glanced at his hand. He hadn't taken the Ring of the Lucii off since he'd donned it in Gralea; he was mildly concerned to realize that he was still wearing it, here in the astral memory. "Um, yeah," he confirmed. "I remember putting this on." Last time he'd come back to this Lucis, he didn't have anything that he'd acquired since he left. Well, there was the Warrior's katana, but he tried to avoid using the royal arms against wildlife.

"Okay..." Y'jhimei still seemed worried.

"It's an heirloom of my family," Noctis explained. "And it's a weapon, kind of." His gaze fell to the dashboard.  _Which doesn't **totally** mean that I didn't have prior commitments before last night._

The road on the other side of the tunnel wound back and forth around the terrain; as it straightened out, Y'jhimei spoke up again. "Is there another reason why you wanted to go back to the fortress?"

Noctis shook his head. "Not that I can think of," he mused. "Why?"

"Well, I was thinking..." Y'jhimei bit her lip. "When we were dealing with the Ixal... you said you'd never seen a Miqo'te before, right?"

"Yeah, I hadn't."

"And that means that Miqo'te... aren't a thing in this world."

Abruptly did Noctis realize what she meant. "Oh, yeah," he realized. "I didn't really think about that."

Y'jhimei turned. "So, if someone recognizes me for my ears and tail..."

"That means we were there," Noctis realized. "And they might be able to help us figure out what happened." He turned to her. "Are me and the guys the only ones you've talked to?"

"Well, yeah," Y'jhimei admitted. "I came to this world in the middle of the night, got to that warehouse, and my chocobo sat on me. Then you and your friends came and helped me out. When you told me you were adventurers, why would I go looking for someone else to help me when you were already there and willing to help?"

"I guess that's a good-"

A buzz and tune had Y'jhimei yelping in surprise. She and Noctis had each pocketed two of the four phones they'd found in the trunk (Noctis only realized now how stupid it was that neither he nor his friends had any good identifiers on their phones), and one of the ones she'd taken was going off. Noctis quickly pulled over as she pulled it out of her pocket, and after a moment of confused gazing at the screen she handed it to Noctis, who accepted it and swiped to answer.

_Hi, Noct!_

Noctis blinked. It had been ringing in the manner of a phone call, and he had been about to raise it to his ear - but now on the screen was a line of text, rather unlike a message or any of his apps.

_Don't you remember me?_

This was familiar, and after a moment Noctis realized where from. In his childhood, he'd been injured by a daemon in Tenebrae, and while he was out cold, he'd experienced a strange dream... with a strange, familiar figure that he'd been seeing every so often in Prompto's photos since their journey began.

"You?"

A dancing cactuar emoji appeared on his screen.

Noctis turned to Y'jhimei. "Can you drive?"

"Um, noooo."

"Then we're gonna have to wait here a bit," Noctis mused, shifting the Regalia to park. "Make yourself comfortable."

Y'jhimei sighed. "Alright."

Noctis got out of the car, stepping towards the trunk before turning down to his phone. "Am I half-dead again?"

 _It's not the world of your dreams_ , read the reply on his phone _. You're still in the astral memory. But you had quite the turn the other night! You need to sort things out here before you can return to the present world._

"What exactly did I do last night?" Noctis muttered.

 _I only get glimpses of the world outside your dreams_ , was the response he got _. You'll have to sort things out yourself. I can point you in the right direction if you need a hand, though!_

"Guess it's better than going in blind," Noctis admitted.

 _You're on the right track going back to the keep with Y'jhimei_ , the next line assured him _. Just be careful._ A frightened moogle emoji appeared to follow that last part.

"Right..."

The screen went out, and Noctis lowered his phone. Digging the other two out of his pockets, he stepped back into the Regalia and set them down on the console between the front seats. "Back to the Keep," he mused.

"Who were you talking to?" Y'jhimei asked as he shifted gears; following his lead, she drew out the last phone and set it down with the other two.

"Just... a friend I met once." Noctis pocketed his own phone. "In my darkest dreams."

* * *

The sun was almost vanished behind the horizon as the Regalia approached Perpetouss Keep; Noctis brought the vehicle into a U-turn on the road leading to it, backed up as close to the doors as he dared, and turned the car off - though he left the headlights on to ward off any daemons.

"Here's hoping we find something useful," Noctis mused.

"Or at least something more pleasant than what we woke up to," Y'jhimei admitted.

"I don't know about you," Noctis insisted as they approached the fort gate, "but waking up naked, with someone from another world, in the back seat of a car, on a frozen lake, and not remembering how I got there was _not_ the worst wakeup call I've ever had."

Y'jhimei gave him a look. "Wow. Adventurers have it rough."

"That's not an adventurer thing," Noctis muttered.

They dragged the door open, finding the interior of the keep somewhat well-lit. A high-pitched kweh from nearby had Noctis reaching for his ears in pain - he was still a bit sensitive from the hangover he'd woken up with, and really wished he'd stopped at the Crow's Nest for a meal on their way here - but a smile rose on his face all the same as he turned to find Y'jhimei's overweight chocobo standing there.

"Evening, Mr. Chunkobo," Noctis greeted.

The trading post that Y'jhimei had set up was covered in a drape of black cloth that looked like it was meant to signify 'store closed'. The spherical drone that usually barred the path to the open area where they had dealt with the Ixal was absent; a curious Noctis stepped towards the gate, pulling it open to find the smouldering remains of a campfire sitting there. Several bottles and cans were sitting around the ashes, and he stepped towards one and picked it up.

"Yep," he mused. "This is where we started."

He headed back out to the entrance area to find Y'jhimei had lit a light behind the drapes and was currently shuffling around, casting her silhouette on its surface. After a moment, she emerged with a sigh. "What's back there?"

Noctis raised the bottle. "Proof we got drunk here," he replied. "If there are security feeds from yesterday, we might be able to figure out where we went next, but I don't even know if the system's online."

"Worth a shot," Y'jhimei mused. "I mean, those drone things have been up and running, right?"

"Yeah, point."

They found a structure with a working computer, and Noctis was pleasantly surprised to discover the cameras at this base were working and running, and had been for a good while. Unfortunately, rewinding through the previous day's file for the camera posed over the interior gate revealed that the only difference was that the campfire didn't go out until noon.

"I'm missing a couple days at least," Noctis muttered as the sunrise set on that day's morning. "Were we _drunk_ that long, or did we pass out and didn't wake up until today?"

Y'jhimei eyes the display as he continued rewinding. "My gil's on the pass-out," she mused. "If we'd kept drinking that long, we'd be dead."

 _...Yeah, astral memory should still pose a threat to my life,_ Noctis contemplated.

"Oh, there!" Y'jhimei's comment drew Noctis' attention back to the screen; the campfire was lit again, and after a moment people began to approach it in reverse - people walking with intoxicated gaits.

She and Noctis were the first to appear, and thus must have been the last to leave. After rewinding a bit further, Prompto appeared with an armoured figure that Noctis recognized as Aranea Highwind. Then Ignis appeared with Iris Amicitia, and Gladiolus approached from the direction of the strange teleporter device.

"Please don't tell me Gladio got taken to your world while he was drunk," Noctis muttered.

"I really hope not," Y'jhimei muttered.

Aranea retreated from the frame shortly thereafter, in the direction of the gate, and Gladiolus and Iris withdrew after her, only for Gladiolus to return again. The sunset started to rise shortly before Y'jhimei started to retreat; the campfire went out under Ignis' dagger and vanished beneath Gladio's hands before the four of the royal retinue departed, and Noctis quickly stopped the rewinding, turning up the sound as they stepped back in.

_"Just take a break, buddy," Prompto reprimanded. "No more swords right now."_

_"Yeah, yeah," Noctis slurred. "It was asking for it."_

"Shit," Noctis muttered. "I was drunk when I got here."

_"You used the power of kings on a drone that happened to be in the way and didn't move when you yelled at it," Gladiolus reprimanded._

"That explains where that thing went," Y'jhimei mused.

"Sorry," Noctis pleaded as the guys started to set up a campfire.

"Don't be," Y'jhimei insisted. "It was just getting in the way."

_Once the fire was lit, Ignis prompted Noctis to sit down in front of it. "Just rest here," he insisted, "and stare into the fire until you feel tired."_

_"I don't want to feel tired," Noctis insisted. "I just want to... not worry for a bit."_

_Y'jhimei stepped into the frame. "Can't be mad at a guy for wanting a break," she mused. "You guys should join him."  
_

_"Join him, in being blitzed out of his mind?" Gladiolus accused._

_"Not necessarily that hard," Y'jhimei laughed. "I've got some drinks from my world you might wanna try out. Maybe you'll like them."_

"How did you get drinks from your world?" Noctis asked. "Did you have them with you when you got here?"

"More or less," Y'jhimei admitted. "They were in my chocobo's saddlebags."

"Saddlebags on a chunkobo like that," Noctis mused, "you could've hidden anything in there."

_Drinks were handed out, and a brief fast-forward later, the entire retinue was laughing around the fire. Noctis had barely moved from before the flames, though he now had a bottle in his hands that he was sipping from. A knock on the door had Gladiolus getting to his feet, though his paces weren't noticeably impaired._

_Noctis started as the door opened. "Iris?"_

_"Noct!" Iris stepped in. "What happened to you?"_

_"You would not believe me if I told you," Noctis murmured. "How did you get here?"_

_"The Regalia might be the most comfortable ride," Iris mused, "but it's not the only one. Gladdy told me you guys were coming this way and asked me to join you." She turned to Y'jhimei. "And you are?"_

_"I'm Y'jhimei," the Miqo'te greeted. "Iris, right?" She held out a bottle. "Care for a drink?"_

_Iris gave the bottle a look, turned to Gladiolus, and then turned back. "I'm... not of age."_

"What does she mean, of a-"

_"What do you mean 'of age'?" Y'jhimei asked. "It's a drink."_

_"Oh," Iris murmured. Then, glancing at Noct. "Um... Sure?"_

"I don't know about your world," Noctis mused, fast-forwarding briefly, "but here there's a minimum age you have to be before you're allowed to drink alcohol."

"Why?"

Noctis stopped the file as Aranea stepped in, then pulled back a few points to when she passed right before the camera feed. "Because that way, if you're old enough to impair yourself, you're old enough to know what'll happen if you do and how to stop yourself from doing something you'll regret."

Y'jhimei glanced at him.

"Which doesn't mean that you'll  _remember_ to stop yourself," Noctis admitted. "Some people drink to stop thinking about something."

_"Hey, boys," Aranea greeted. "What are you up to?"_

_"A-Aranea!" Prompto greeted. "What brings you here?"_

_"Your campfire in the middle of an abandoned imperial base," Aranea replied. "Wondered who would be sticking around here. What's the story?"_

_"You wouldn't believe it if we told you," Gladiolus accused._

_"Ex-imperial, big guy," Aranea reminded him, "I'll believe a whole lot. And who are these two?"_

_"I'm Eerish."_

_"Y'jhimei." A bottle was offered to her. "Join us for a drink?"_

"Okay, that's everyone getting here," Noctis mused. "Now where did they go?"

He sped forward until Gladio departed, then returned to just before he got up - as everyone had turned towards the path he was about to take.

_"Whadda heck washhat?" Iris asked._

_"Dunno," Gladiolus mused, "but it came from the teleporter." He got to his feet, looking relatively stable. "Wait here, I'll check it out."_

_"You sure, big guy?" Prompto mused. "Don't want any backup?"_

_"More like I don't want to have to keep you guys outta trouble," Gladiolus replied, starting away. As he left the camera's view, the sound of a weapon appearing could be heard. "Be back in a minute."_

"Shit," Noctis muttered. "Please please please don't tell me he didn't get teleported."

"...I really don't know," Y'jhimei murmured. "If he went that way and didn't come back..."

_There was no noticeable sound or light from the direction of the teleporter; the drunken conversation continued for a while before Iris made to lie down._

_Ignis stopped her. "No, no," he reprimanded, "not here."_

_"But'm shleepy," Iris muttered._

_"No buts," Ignis insisted. "I'll take you somewhere to sleep."_

_"Igniiish..."_

_Ignis got to his feet, looking a bit unstable himself, and put Iris' arm over his shoulder. "Enjoy yourselves," he told the remainder. "I'll see to it she's safe."_

_"Yeah, sure thing, Four-Eyes," Aranea mused._

"That's not good," Y'jhimei observed. "Vehicles aren't safe after you've been drinking. I really hope he took a chocobo."

"I hope so too," Noctis mused, "but if he intended to get her back to Caem..."

_Some time later, Aranea had gotten to her feet with her lance in hand. "You're starting to piss me off," she reprimanded. "I got the only red one that was in the empire. What's the point of 'sprucing it up'?"_

_"Hey, you're a dragoon, right?" Prompto asked. "Make it more like that. A dragon on it, or give it a scale pattern. Cindy could paint up anything."_

_"Really?" Aranea accused._

_"Really really," Prompto insisted. "And if you don't like it, she can change it right back."_

_"Alright, then," Aranea proclaimed. "Show me the way."_

_"You got it!" Prompto assured her, getting to his feet. "Come on!"_

"So Prompto went to Hammerhead to paint Aranea's magitek engine," Noctis mused.

"Engine?" Y'jhimei asked. "Is that those big noisy flying things?"

"You've seen them before?" Noctis asked.

"They've flown overhead a couple times, "Y'jhimei confirmed. "But going on one of those drunk can't be better than a vehicle."

"Aranea doesn't work alone," Noctis observed. "She probably had someone manning the engine while she was down here, they would've been able to fly them safely. Prompto's the most likely to be safe."

Y'jhimei sighed. "What about the other two- huh?" Her interruption drew Noctis' attention back to the screen. "What's that?"

_Noctis drew something out of his pocket, slipping it onto his right hand. After a moment, Y'jhimei noticed, asking, "What's that ring?"_

_"It's a sign of the royal family," Noctis replied. "I just... want a reminder when I wake up."_

_"Royal, huh?" Y'jhimei gave him a look. "You a noble or something?"_

_"Technically, I'm the King of Lucis," Notis admitted. "Pragmatically, I'm just a prince trying to get there."_

"A prince," Y'jhimei observed.

"Yeah, that wasn't just drunk BS," Noctis admitted.

"I thought you said you were an adventurer," Y'jhimei accused. "Or, well, you said 'hunter'."

"I do the same kind of stuff hunters do," Noctis replied. "If someone doesn't know me, I'd rather they know me as a hunter and see me as an equal than know me as a prince and think they owe me big-time." 

_"So, what's the ring do?" Y'jhimei asked._

_"Mostly stuff that makes your healing magic look cheap and flaky," Noctis replied._

_Y'jhimei smacked him. "Real nice," she reprimanded._

_"I'm not kidding," Noctis insisted. "I can kill something and heal myself with their blood, or I can vanish when they try to hit me and blow them up with light, or I can just break the world open and send them to be the beyond."_

"Holy shit," Y'jhimei murmured.

"On the bright side," Noctis replied, "you didn't get annoy me enough to try and use it on you."

_"Oh, really?" Y'jhimei accused. "Is it a right-away thing, or does it take a while?"_

_"The light's right-away," Noctis replied. "The break-open takes a bit of focus, but kicks you out right away. The blood-sucker takes a while."_

_Y'jhimei smirked. "How big can you kill?"_

_"How big does Lucis have?"_

_"Betcha we can find something and find out."_

"Oh, tell me we didn't go to Longwythe and pick a fight with the peak," Noctis muttered.

Y'jhimei turned off the feed as they got to their feet. "Okay, so Prompto and that dragoon are okay. Ignis and the monk girl are something to worry about. Gladio's either okay or nothing we can help with."

"That sums it up," Noctis replied. "I wish we could find them, but they left their phones in the car, so I can't call them."

There was a moment of quiet; then Y'jhimei raised her gaze. "Wait, do you still have that linkpearl I gave you?"

"That what? Oh, that thing?" Noctis reached into his pockets. "I... can't find it."

"Maybe one of the others took it from you," Y'jhimei mused. "I can try and contact them and find out."

"It might just be in the car," Noctis observed.

Y'jhimei dug through her pockets. "Then let's head out and I'll connect to it. Either someone on the other end picks up or we'll find it under the seat."

* * *

They got the main gates open and found the Regalia's headlights still lit. Noctis turned the car on while Y'jhimei was trying to connect; he was just opening the back door when the Miqo'te cheered, "I got 'im!"

"Who?"

"Gladio!"

"What!?" Noctis stepped forward; Y'jhimei handed him the linkpearl, and he raised it to his ear. "Gladio?"

 _"Noct,"_ Gladiolus groaned.  _"What the hell happened last night?"_

"I got drunk, we went to Perpetouss, everybody got drunk, and we went four different ways," Noctis replied. "Where are you right now?"

 _"Remember where you found the chainsaw glaive?"_  

Noctis double-took. "Costlemark?!"

 _"I'm still close to the entrance,"_ Gladiolus assured him.  _"I think. But there's this girl in white who's taking the lead too much and can't figure out how to get out of here."_

That sounded too familiar. "...Put her on."

_"Huh?"_

"Give her the pearl," Noctis replied. "Let me talk to her."

_"Uh, sure... Hey."_

There was a strange sound distinct from that of a phone changing hands; then a female voice spoke.  _"Noctis, is that you?"_

"Sarah!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> They let you name Carbuncle, and they make a point that Noctis never addresses him by name, so I wrote this chapter appropriately.
> 
> Draco named his 'Sapphire' because of Noct's age in the Platinum Demo. He figures, being as he is so young (and younger still when he first received the totem, I think), it would be easy for him to mix up something not-personally-relevant like what jewels are what colour. Intending to name Carbuncle after the jewel of his horn, Noct names him Sapphire and realizes a few years later that sapphires are blue and the red ones are rubies.


	3. My First Night Here With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> I am all over the frickin' place with these chapter titles.
> 
> Ugh, I thought I could go a whole story without using anyone's nickname in the narrative but "Gladiolus" is not the kind of name that feels natural to use repeatedly.

"Sarah!?"

 _"Noctis, what's going on?"_ Sarah sounded most aggravated.  _"I just woke up in this temple with some bruiser-"_

"Sarah, calm down," Noctis insisted. Then, after a moment; "Didn't I ask you to call me Noct?"

 _"Um..."_ Sarah seemed a little awkward.  _"I don't quite remember. I kinda wrote off that whole thing as a dream."_

Noctis sighed. "You're not the only one."  _The bruises had me wondering, though._ "Look, Gladio said you're close to the entrance of that place, but after what happened the other night I don't trust his judgement."

 _"Not so sure my judgement's a whole lot better,"_ Sarah admitted,  _"but we're not anything close to an entrance."_

"Door's usually closed during the day..." Noctis glanced up at the dark skies. "...but the sun's far enough down it would be open by now. Are you guys safe at least?"

 _"Big open area with nothing attacking us in the hour since I woke up,"_ Sarah mused.  _"Bunch of stone shapes around squares on the floor that look like they might move._

 _How did Gladio think that was near the entrance?_ "Right. I'll be right there."

The sound of the linkpearl changing hands again; then Gladio spoke.  _"Noct, where are the others?"_

"Prompto and Aranea are together," Noctis replied. "I think Ignis should be with Iris."

 _"Don't come in here on your own,"_ Gladio accused.  _"You know how many daemons are-"_

Y'jhimei seized Noctis' arm, angling the linkpearl towards her. "Gladio, relax," she insisted. "I can help Noct get down there."

 _"Y'jhimei?"_ Gladiolus grumbled after a moment.  _"Alright, but go easy. Have Noct show you his magic before you get down here."_

Noctis pulled the pearl back, remembering something. "Gladio, isn't there a warp tile right in that zone?"

_"Yeah, but... you know those flaming swords that red giants carry?"_

"Whaaat?"

_"Yeah. There's one lying on the tile. We've got no idea how to move that thing."_

"Wonderful." Noctis shook his head. "Yeah, we're gonna drive there. We'll make our way down and help you guys out."

The pearl made a sound like a glass being struck; he must've hung up. Noctis handed it to Y'jhimei as she asked, "Do they know about your ring?"

"Yes," Noctis replied. Then, remembering that he hadn't gotten the ring until Altissia, and hadn't put it on until Gralea; "Um, no... Kind of?"

The Miqo'te rolled her eyes. "Then what did Gladio mean by 'show me your magic' if he wasn't talking about your ring?"

Noctis drew out the Blizzard spell that he'd found in the cup holder of the Regalia. "Eos has deposits of elemental energy sitting around all over the place," he explained. "I can gather that energy, and craft it into these." He turned towards the road. "Then I just take aim, and..."

He stopped before he could throw the spell; they were standing right next to the Regalia, and he didn't know the potency of what he'd crafted while he was drunk. After a moment, he remembered the road was raised, and tossed the spell over the railing.

And  _snow scattered out from the impact point_ as ice burst out.

"Gyaaaah!"

Noctis decided not to reprimand Y'jhimei for the shriek; this cold was a lot stronger than anything he remembered casting.  _What catalyst did I find to make this?_

Y'jhimei watched, shivering, as the flurry continued. "You can make it freaking  _snow?_ "

"The snow's just a reactive effect," Noctis explained. "The ice is what my spell does. I can tone it down so it doesn't feel like winter. I've also got flame and lightning."

"You're a thaumaturge?" Y'jhimei exclaimed.

"No," Noctis insisted. "First off, that's not a thing. Second, I'm just responsible for crafting it. I can give the spells to anyone I trust with them."

Y'jhimei blinked. "Really?"

"You're still missing that book," Noctis observed, "you want something a little more offensive?"

* * *

A few stops at various havens later, Noctis had crafted a good few spells (though nothing he expected to be as powerful as what he'd shown near Perpetouss) and they were on their way to Costlemark. The enhanced headlights prevented any daemons from attacking them en route, and once they arrived at the parking spot near Costlemark Noctis turned the vehicle off.

"Straight up this path," Noctis instructed. "You'll see some old ruins glowing in the moonlight. That's Costlemark Tower. The path underground will be open."

"Why is called 'tower' if it goes down?" Y'jhimei asked.

"I think it  _used_ to be an actual tower back when it was first made," Noctis admitted, "but now it's just a couple empty stories and an underground labyrinth."

They managed to avoid any daemonic encounters until they reached Costlemark; as they reached the first open zone, however, a horde of gelatin rose up, looking to threaten them. Y'jhimei went for the elemancy, but Noctis only raised his ring hand, and with a brief stream of red magic, the first one seemed to  _melt_.

Then the second, and the third, and fourth; the last one leapt at Noctis, and as he phased out of the way, a burst of holy magic surged up around his afterimage, leaving the gelatin to _solidify and crumble_.

Y'jhimei's jaw fell. "Woah," she exclaimed. "You weren't kidding."

"No, I wasn't," Noctis confirmed.

"I thought you said the kill-and-heal one takes a while," Y'jhimei accused.

"Meaning, it doesn't take effect immediately," Noctis elaborated. "It kind of varies on how quickly it works."

Y'jhimei glanced at the Thunder spell she'd drawn out. "What was the point of making this stuff, then?"

Noctis turned to her. "There's a whole lot of enemies in here. Can't guarantee I'm gonna get them all. Better you not be completely undefended."

"I highly doubt we're gonna have a lot of trouble on that front," Y'jhimei mused, eyeing his ring hand.

* * *

She was absolutely right; nothing they encountered on their way through Costlemark stood up very long to the arcana of the Ring of the Lucii, and Noctis was surprised at how easy the going was. As they reached the short bridge leading to the open area Gladiolus had reported, Noctis took the ring off, slipping it into his pocket.

Y'jhimei noticed. "What's up?"

"Do me a favour and don't tell Gladio I was wearing that thing," Noctis insisted quietly.

"O...kay..."

They started across the bridge, finding no daemonic opponents confronting them thereupon; reaching the other end had them looking at a red giant's heated sword. As they stepped out into the open zone, Y'jhimei stepped ahead, calling out; "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Y'jhimei!"

The voice from nearby drew the Miqo'te's attention as the Shield of the King stepped into view. "Gladio!"

As the prince stepped out after her, a girl in white followed Gladio into the open. "Noctis!"

"Sarah!" Noctis started towards her.

He had barely reached arm's length before her hand lashed forward and smacked him, and as the sound echoed in the empty hall, silence fell.

Noctis hung in the recoil for a moment, facing Y'jhimei as the impact registered. "...I'm not sure that was justified," he muttered, turning back to Sarah.

"What am I doing here?" she demanded. "Last thing I remember is waking up in some fortress next to a weird, glowing thing-"

"The teleporter," Y'jhimei realized. "That thing is like a beacon to world travellers."

"-when this musclehead showed up and told me to come with him!" Sarah continued, aiming a finger at Gladio. "I saw you there, why didn't you stop me from going after him!"

In hindsight, Noctis would determine that "Because I was blackout drunk and half-unconscious" was not the best reason to give the angry lady with a sword.

"What?!"

"Uh..."

Sarah smacked him again, and Noctis stumbled for a step this time. "...That one  _may_ have been justified," he murmured.

Gladiolus grabbed Sarah's arm before she could do anything more. "Calm the hell down," he reprimanded. "I would've  _known_  he was drunk when I came and found you there. I wasn't gonna take you to the wasted prince. Blame me for you being down here. And for you not remembering anything between."

"Why would you be responsible for her not remembering anything between?" Y'jhimei asked.

"Odds are good I gave her a drink, too," Gladio replied.

With a sigh, Sarah set a hand on her head. "How do we get out of here?" she asked. "Tell me that giant sword isn't on the only way out."

"It's not," Noctis assured her. "We can walk back up to the entrance. If it's still night when we get up there, the door will be open. If not, there's another warp tile that'll take us out and we made sure there wasn't anything on this one."

"Do you have any idea where the others are?" Gladio asked. "You said Prompto was with Aranea and Ignis was with Iris, but you didn't say where."

"Prompto and Aranea were going to Hammerhead," Noctis replied. "I think Ignis and Iris were gonna head back to Caem, but I think Specs would know better than to try and drive while he was that bad. The Regalia ended up with us."

"Meaning you woke up in Perpetouss," Gladio accused, "or you woke up in the back seat?"

Noctis sighed. "I'm not going to answer that."

Sarah made to slap him again. Noctis phased out of the way of this one.

* * *

They got out of Costlemark more-or-less safely, but the sun was rising as they did; the stone stairs rose into the 'closed' position as they reached level ground, catching Sarah by surprise.

"If Prompto was with Aranea, she was probably with her team," Gladio observed. "Let's worry about Iris first."

"I came to the same conclusion," Noctis mused. "Give me a second, I want to try something. Your phone's in the console."

Gladiolus headed towards the car, followed by Y'jhimei and Sarah; once they were on their way, he drew out his phone. Sure enough, before he could make to dial anyone, text appeared upon his screen.  _Need a hand, Noct?_

"How long would it take to get from Caem to Perpetouss by chocobo?" Noctis asked.

 _Longer than it would take to have gotten there from Lestallum by car and spend the time you were there before she got there,_ was the response.

"I had a feeling," Noctis murmured. 

 _Don't worry_ , the next message assured him _. If something irreversible had happened, the astral memory would've rained down Hellfire on you._

Noctis winced. "I'm not sure I needed to know that."

An upset malboro emoji appeared on his screen.

"Fair enough," Noctis conceded. "Thanks."

He pocketed his phone again and started towards the car. Gladio and Sarah were in the back seat, with Y'jhimei up front; the Shield of the King had all three phones in his hand and was tapping on one of them, and as Noctis approached he handed the other two to the prince. "We really oughta have identifiers on these things."

"Or at least custom backgrounds on the lock screens," Noctis agreed. He put them in the console and got in the driver's seat. "Okay, you called Iris to come to Perpetouss while we were en route. She would have taken a car. There was no car when me and Y'jhimei got there. What do you think are the odds that the imperials would notice an unattended car outside an abandoned base and confiscated it?"

"Pretty high," Gladio observed. "If it wasn't there when you guys got back, that doesn't necessarily mean Iggy took it."

Sarah looked concerned.  "Is there any way to make sure?" she asked, clearly understanding the perils of drunk driving.

"Should be a security feed there," Y'jhimei mused. "And we should check out the teleporter, see if we can get you back. Or at least shut it down so it doesn't invite anyone else here. The last thing this world needs is heart-eating monsters or friend-powered red mages or something."

"Good point," Noctis mused. "Back to the keep it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Draco's not a challenge gamer, but he enjoys making things thematic. Thus, he always gets the Sword of the Father last. I've noticed, however, that whenever he comes back to past Lucis - or hell, what he goes through in Galdin after Noctis' sleeping in crystal - the daemon types that he encounters in Costlemark (bombs, flan, goblinoids) go down fast from Death or Holy, and Alterna would take care of the bigger stuff (assuming giants have a good chance of it kicking in).
> 
> So he could save himself a lot of suffering by saving the Sword of the Tall for last.
> 
> In fact, he might be the only guy who DOESN'T save the Sword of the Tall for last without having the excuse of being a challenge gamer.


	4. I'll See You Again Upon A Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Ugh, I love webcomics, but I hate the wait period. I should start neglecting these things for a couple weeks or so and then binge what I've missed. But I guess that would just aggravate the issue into the same level as published manga volumes.

The ride back to Perpetouss was briefly intruded by an imperial magitek engine as they approached the Keep; Noctis and Gladio took care of the MTs as they descended, and once the engine took off they, Sarah, and Y'jhimei headed inside. The otherworlders went in the direction of the teleporter, while the prince and his Shield made their way to the warehouse with the camera feeds. Noctis clicked back to the day he'd lost, starting to rewind the feed.

"...You know," Gladio mused, "I just... had a thought. Iggy took Iris while it was still dark out, right?"

"Yeah?" Noctis mused.

"So... even if he was a bit blitzed... maybe we should be hoping that he  _did_ take her car."

Noctis abruptly realized how dangerous it would be to encounter daemons while drunk. "...Yeah..."

A sound like a detonation had both of them starting, turning in towards the source before realizing the warehouse had no windows. It had come from the direction of the teleporter, and after just a moment they both dashed out, running towards the area with their weapons at the ready.

Y'jhimei was standing before the device - and it was lit up and spinning. As they approached she turned towards them, raising a hand warningly. "Calm down!" she insisted. "That wasn't anything coming here. Sarah's gone back to her world."

Noctis halted mid-motion, his hand at his side and ready to draw a blade. "You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure," Y'jhimei insisted. "She said the so-long seemed familiar."

"...Alright..." Noctis lowered his hand, and Gladio let his greatsword disappear. "So, are you going to...?"

"I'm thinking I should trash this thing," Y'jhimei admitted. "Make it so we don't have anyone else coming this way." She drew out the elemancy that Noctis had crafted for her.

Gladio stepped forward. "Woah, now," he warned. "Don't go smashing that thing up just yet. What about you?"

Y'jhimei turned to him. Noctis noticed with some concern that she had all three flasks in one hand. "What _about_ me?"

"Shouldn't you go back to your world before we slam the door?" Gladio insisted. "I mean, you said you wanted to stay here for a bit, but don't you want to go home?"

There was a moment of quiet as Y'jhimei turned back to the teleporter, looking contemplative; then she turned back to the Lucians.

"Nah, this world is pretty cool after all."

She turned and hurled the spells at the teleporter, leaving Noctis and Gladio yelling in surprise. Gladio's shield appeared in his grip as Noctis' sword appeared in his; he hurled it backwards as he reached forward, grabbing Y'jhimei's arm, and before she could protest he vanished towards his weapon. The shift of their momentum left them stumbling back, and Gladio hunched down to cover as much of his body with his shield as he could.

The flasks made contact with the teleporter, and the end result of  _three different high-level elemancy spells_ going off at once caused a blast not flame nor thunder that left Gladio skidding back and everyone's ears ringing.

There was a moment as the three of them tried to recover themselves; then Noctis got to his feet shakily. "That was way too close to be throwing magic at," he reprimanded of Y'jhimei once he was sure he could hear himself.

"You could've warned me," Y'jhimei insisted.

"Yeah, 'cause you gave me all that time to react," Noctis countered.

Gladio struggled to get to his feet, the knee of his Crownsguard fatigues looking to have been torn open and his skin underneath it looking a bit harmed. "Could I get some of the nicer magic?" he requested.

"Oh, yeah, sure, here..."

Y'jhimei patched him up as Noctis started back towards the warehouse. "Dammit, I left the feed running as we left. I hope that didn't knock something out."

The computer was still active when they got back, though it was noon on the day before they had arrived. Noctis quickly sped forward, past the Regalia parking outside Perpetouss and Iris driving in with a car that looked like it belonged in Lestallum; as Ignis stepped out of the keep with Iris over his arm, he hit play.

_"Right," Ignis mused as he led Iris to the car. "Back seat. Plenty of room for you to lie down if you need."_

_"Alriiiiigh," Iris slurred. "Shafe durving, Ignish."_

_He set her down in the car and closed the door behind her, starting towards the driver's seat before stopping. "Curses," he murmured. "I can't drive like this."_

"I don't know which outcome to root for," Gladio observed.

"Yeah," Noctis agreed. "Either he's in the car, and we're worried he crashed, or he's out of the car, and we're worried the daemons got him."

_After a long moment, Ignis closed his eyes. "The post," he murmured. "The chocobo post isn't too far. Just... go very, very slowly."_

"A chocobo post?" Y'jhimei mused. "How far is that?"

"Farther than the rest area," Gladio replied. "Why didn't he just stop there?"

"Well, maybe he did stop there," Noctis observed. "Let's check there and see if anyone noticed him, then head to the post if there's a 'no'."

* * *

Y'jhimei elected to wait in the car while Noct and Gladio asked around. The tipster at the Crow's Nest in the Cauthess Rest Area revealed that no one matching Ignis or Iris' descriptions had stopped by, so they continued on to the chocobo post.

"Well," the Miqo'te observed as they got back to the Regalia, "you guys look like that didn't go too well."

"The good news is, Iggy was here safely," Gladio mused, slipping into the back seat. "He and Iris stayed the night at the caravan, and left the next morning."

"Okay," Y'jhimei mused, turning to Noctis. "So what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is," Noctis replied, "they decided to go to Galdin Quay. Apparently, Iris' hangover was absolutely dreadful, and Ignis thought that maybe some sea breeze would do her some good."

They quickly got the Regalia on the road, and after a moment Y'jhimei asked, "Is that... innaccurate?"

Noctis shook his head. "Not necessarily," he admitted. "I'm just hoping they didn't take our boat."

"You guys have a boat?" Y'jhimei exclaimed.

"Hell yeah we got a boat," Gladio confirmed. "Cid said he didn't think any bad driver could sink her, but I'm more worried about it getting run aground."

They entered the tunnel towards Galdin - and halfway through, they found another car driving the way they had come. As they passed one another, Noctis recognized the gleam of a familiar pair of glasses; with a mutter of "Ignis!" he quickly turned the Regalia into a hasty U-turn that slammed Y'jhimei into the door and had Gladio slipping across the backseat. The car they had passed had done the exact same thing, and their attempts to near one another had Noctis driving past; he elected to just hit the brakes this time, shifting the Regalia to park and stepping out as the occupants of the other car had done the same.

"Iggy!" Y'jhimei greeted.

"Y'jhimei! Gladio!"

"Iris!"

" ** _Noct!_** "

The prince halted at Iris' call, and nobody had a chance to react before she closed the distance between them and struck him across the face - hard enough that he immediately fell to the pavement of the highway.

Y'jhimei winced. "I'm guessing that one wasn't justified either?"

"No, that one was justified  _completely_ ," Noctis conceded.

"You  _got me drunk!_ " Iris shrieked.

Noctis raised a hand. "Okay, woah," he insisted, getting to his feet. "I  _let_ you get drunk. Still hit-worthy, but I didn't give you the bottle."

Iris groaned. "Whatever!" she protested. "You let me get drunk, then you let Ignis cart me off and have me wake up at the chocobo post smelling some of the _worst cooking ever!_ "

Ignis' gaze narrowed. "I'm not sure if I should be offended, or simply concede the point," he mused.

"Is that why you guys went to Galdin?" Gladio asked. "Because Specs was too hung over to cook properly?"

"Of a sort," Ignis replied. "I also somewhat hoped one of you would be there. Where's Prompto?"

"Our best guess is that he's with Aranea," Noctis mused. "His camera was in the trunk when I woke up. They went to Hammerhead to talk to Cindy, that might be a place to start."

"Lead the way, then," Ignis mused.

Noctis chuckled. "Another convoy?"

Ignis smiled. "A kinder one, this time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Draco's experiment with a friend's PS4 reveals that if you haven't played the Platinum Demo, Carbuncle is named ??? in the main game tutorial and that open-combat thing that happens in the 1.01 version.


	5. Across the Borderline of Black and White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> World's End Dancehall has official translyrics. Still, I kinda hesitated on this one.

"The hell is this rock?"

Gladiolus had been digging around the backside while Noctis drove at the fore of the convoy leading to Hammerhead. At his question, Noctis glanced in the rear-view mirror to find his Shield holding up the ore he'd discovered at the Vesperpool.

"Oh, um... not sure," Noctis admitted, turning his attention back to the road. "I found it under the brake pedal."

"Tell me you didn't find it because you tried to brake and it stopped you," Gladio pleaded.

"Don't worry," Y'jhimei assured him. "We gave the car a thorough search after we woke up."

Gladio lowered the ore for a moment before raising his gaze. "Wait, what do you mean 'after  _we_ woke up'?"

Y'jhimei quickly turned her eyes forward before her face had acquired any significant shades of red. "Nothing."

"...Nothing, huh?" Gladio mused, turning to Noctis.

"A whole lot of nothing," Noct confirmed.

"Right."

They arrived at Hammerhead without further incident; Cindy emerged from the garage with a smirk as they did, and as the vehicles were parked she came up on the Regalia's driver side. "Hey there, Prince," she greeted. "Guessin' you want the old girl's new colours off her?"

"No," Noctis insisted as he stepped out. "Well, kind of. Wait, were we here the other night?"

"Yeah, you were," Cindy confirmed with a giggle. "Your friend in the neko cosplay brought you here in the dead of night, drunk as a seadevil swimmin' in sake. Told me, the dark shades didn't fit no 'royal carriage', and I oughta give the old girl some colour."

Y'jhimei turned to Gladio. "Cosplay?" she asked.

"Just go with it," Gladio insisted, getting out of the car.

After a moment, Y'jhimei got out of the car as well. "Wait, you're not gonna tell me I was driving, are you?"

"Well, you sure weren't lettin' the Prince drive," Cindy mused. "Not when he was that bad." Her expression fell. "Wait, you don't mean-"

"I'm missing as much of a night as he was," Y'jhimei confirmed.

"Aw, shoot," Cindy muttered. "You sure weren't actin' like you had any alcohol in _your_ tank. Paw-paw's gonna kill me if he finds out about this."

Ignis and Iris stepped forward. "We'll not say a word to Master Cid if you won't," he assured her. "There's been no suffering at the Regalia's hands. Now, we're taken to understand that Prompto would have been here the same night."

Cindy's smile returned. "Yeah, your cameraman was here before you were," she confirmed. "Came in an imperial ship and gave us all a real fright. Turns out the lady with the lance just wanted a paint job for the ship. Red hull didn't mean enough as far as not bein' part of the empire goes."

"Do you have any idea where they went afterwards?" Iris asked.

"They spent the night," Cindy replied, "but I didn't see 'em leave in the mornin'. Best I can tell ya is that I heard 'er goin' west as I woke up. Didn't y'all try an' give 'em a call?"

Noctis shook his head. "Found four phones and his camera in the trunk when I woke up," he admitted.

Iris stepped forward. "Wait, only four?" she asked. "I'm missing mine."

"And I, as well," Ignis agreed.

"He had his and mine," Gladio mused, "so..."

"Prompto might have his," Noctis realized, digging out his phone.

Cindy smiled. "Obvious answer always has to stare ya in the face a bit before you notice," she observed. "Is that a yes to strippin' the paint job?"

"Yeah," Noctis confirmed, dialing Prompto's number. "Thanks."

In short order, Prompto picked up - and he sounded out of breath.  _"Noct!?"_

"Prompto?"

 _"Kinda busy here, buddy!"_ Prompto cried.

"Where are you!?" Noctis asked.

 _"Woke up in Aranea's engine when the empire hit it!"_ Prompto warned.  _"Turns out they don't accept resignations!"_

From the background, Noctis could hear Aranea yelling.  _"If that's His Majesty, tell him to get his kingly ass over here!"_

"Heard her loud and clear," he told Prompto. "Where are you guys?"

_"First shot landed... somewhere over the Ravatoghan Trail!"_

" **What!?** "

_"I gotta go, the gun doesn't man itself!"_

"Prompt-" Noctis heard Prompto hang up and groaned, shoving his phone into his pocket. "Cold the first time, heat the next!" he muttered, charging towards the car Ignis had brought here.

"Noct," Ignis protested, "what are you-!?"

"Get in the car!" Noctis insisted, "we gotta go!"

He slipped into the driver's seat and started the engine, and the other four exchanged of worried glances before following. "Front seat, Gladdy," Iris proclaimed, "you can't fit if there's three in the back!"

"Wait!" Cindy protested as they piled in. "Prince, ya gotta-!"

With a squeal of tires, Noctis brought the car into a U-turn, leaving the Regalia at Hammerhead.

"...pay up front for a paint job," Cindy finished to the empty space. With a sigh, she set her hand over her forehead. "I mean, I guess them lot have proven trustworthy, but- huh?"

Something caught her eye in the back seat - a chunk of ore.

* * *

"What exactly happened with Prompto?" Ignis asked from the back seat.

Noctis was driving towards the Norduscaean Blockade. "He's with Aranea, they're in an  _imperial firefight_ somewhere over Ravatogh."

"The  _Rock_ of Ravatogh?" Iris exclaimed.

"So, what," Gladio asked, "you're gonna floor it the whole way there?"

"That won't be enough," Noctis insisted. "I'm hoping - yes!" An imperial magitek engine was approaching in the rear view mirror; the prince hastily parked the car, earning groans of protest as he threw the driver's door open. "We need to be in the air when we get there or we're not gonna be much use."

Ignis led the charge out of the back seat. "Noct," he warned, "we have  _no idea_ how to fly a magitek engine. How do you expect us to be of any use?"

"How hard can it be?" Noctis argued as the bay doors opened.

He intended to throw his sword in and warp - but Iris had other ideas, charging towards the drop point. As Gladio made to protest, a squad of magitek troopers leapt out; Iris proceeded to springboard off the first one to land, kick another mid-fall, and then  _use it to propel herself higher_ , grabbing the rim of the bay doors and slipping inside before they could close. Noctis didn't dare to try and warp in her direction while she was in there; he, Gladio, and Ignis charged the remainder of the squad, and Y'jhimei elected to hang back and heal while they smashed the troopers to smoke.

The last one hit the ground just before the engine started to descend; the doors opened again once they were low enough for the earthbound to reach, and Iris dashed up to the rim. "Not too hard," she admitted, "but if you'd thrown a sword in here you probably would've broken something!"

"See?" Noctis mused to Ignis.

Ignis rolled his eyes. "It's one thing to make a craft go up and down," he countered, "but another to give it any sort of horizontal speed. Let's hope they're not too far removed in this case."

He started into the engine, and Gladio smacked Noctis between the shoulder blades. "If this is what you do when you know he's in Lucis," the Shield mused, "I'd hate to see what happens if he ends up in Niflheim."

"Not funny," Noctis muttered.

They climbed inside, with Y'jhimei right behind them. She wasn't a moment too slow; Ignis started to close the bay doors while she was still on the ramp, and with yelp she stumbled to safe ground. "Hey, careful!" she insisted. "Are you trying to close the door on my tail?"

Iris turned to her. "What do you mean 'on your tail'?"

"Oh," Y'jhimei mused. "Did we not have that conversation?"

"What conversation?"

The engine moved - abruptly - leaving all of them stumbling; Iris ended up knocking Y'jhimei over, and her tail ended up curling around the Amicitia's leg. Noctis managed to stay on his feet, turning to Ignis. "How's the speed?"

"We'll be at Ravatogh in a matter of minutes," he replied, "but it'll be a bumpy ride."

Iris's leg moved against Y'jhimei's tail for a moment; then she raised her gaze to the Miqo'te. "Is that body-?"

"That's body heat, yeah," Y'jhimei confirmed.

* * *

Multiple imperial magitek engines were soaring over the slope of the Rock of Ravatogh as their usurped ride arrived. Aranea's red engine was in the middle of things, with a paint job in azure of a curled blue dragon; one side was open, with gunfire roaring from a turret positioned there, but the ship seemed to be surrounded.

"Alright, we've found the skirmish," Ignis proclaimed. "What the hell was step two?"

"We've got to get the weapons running and help Prompto and Aranea get out of here," Noctis replied.

"How the hell do we access the weapons on these things?" Gladio demanded.

Noct was about to answer when one of the imperial engines turned and fired at them; the shake was enough to throw Ignis from the controls, and Noct could feel the ship veering. "Oh, shit," he muttered. "Climb!"

Ignis grabbed the controls again, trying to get the vessel to ascend; another blast narrowly skimmed under them as they ended up soaring over Aranea's craft, but a third struck them full-on, and everyone felt it start to descend.

"Dammit!" Gladio pounded at the bay door switch. "Everyone out! We can land on one of theirs!"

They didn't have time to question it; everyone charge out the bay doors, and Noctis barely managed to bring up the rear before his feet left the ship involutnarily; their stolen magitek engine tumbled towards the Rock, and ahead of him, one of the imperial ships veered out of the way.

"No!" Iris tried to loom closer, but her fingers barely skimmed its surface. "Shiiiit!"

Noctis was  _not_ about to let his friends die here; he quickly dove faster, and as he drew level with the others, crystalline echoes of the royal arms appeared around him. "Everyone take a weapon!"

"What!?" Y'jhimei shrieked.

"Take one!" Noctis yelled. "We can still get on there!"

"Noct!" Ignis protested. "We're not trained for this!"

"I know," Noctis insisted, "but if I'm here you don't need to be!"

He hurled the Axe of the Conqueror in Gladio's direction; it loomed towards him shaft-first, and the Shield grabbed it before the head could come around, leaving him spinning. The Swords of the Wanderer were flung towards Ignis; he seized one blade and found their momentum enough to separate the other, which he quickly captured before it could escape him. The Scepter of the Pious was sent towards Iris, who gripped it mid-turn and ended up turning the other way; then the Katana of the Warrior was thrown to Y'jhimei, who trapped it between her hands before she realized it was sheathed.

Then Noctis directed all his crystal blades to fly over Aranea's ship, and with a rush of blue the entire party of five found themselves warped atop the ship, which was stationary enough that their immediate falling landed safely atop its hull.

The royal arms vanished as Y'jhimei fell to her knees. "Freaking Twelve, what was that?"

"How did you know that was going to work?" Ignis demanded.

"I've done it before," Noctis replied.

Gladio grabbed his arm. "No, you had a hand on her when you did it before," he reprimanded.

Noctis realized that his Shield had seen him warp when he'd saved Y'jhimei; and then he realized that his reprimand on that front also applied to when his warp passenger had been Sarah. "Oh," he mused. "Then, I guess I didn't know it was going to work."

Iris shot upright. "What!?"

A thud behind them drew their attention; Aranea had landed there, her lance in hand. "Nice moves, Prince Charming," she observed, "but I hope you've got more than some flying swords if you're gonna help with this."

"Aranea," Noctis exclaimed. "Where's Prompto?"

"He's manning the gun," Aranea insisted. "How are you gonna deal with-?!"

"Um, guys," Iris interrupted, "are you seeing this?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the air around them - fragments of light were drifting in the sky, surrounding their engine and all those around them. Ignis and Gladio both turned to Noctis uncertainly, whose amused chuckle had Aranea glaring.

His eyes lit up with a red glow, and he turned towards the skies. "Can you take them out without hitting us?"

Clouds began to converge above the Rock of Ravatogh, and at the point directly above Aranea's magitek engine, they began to  _swirl_. From the center of the brewing storm emerged a spinning figure, rapidly descending; Aranea and Iris stumbled back in surprise as it neared the ship and abruptly halted its descent. Wings unfurled on a dark-skinned humanoid figure - wings unbecoming of anything mortal that would soar the sky of Eos - and lightning began to crack in the clouds above as taloned hands were extended towards them. The winds howled all the fiercer, and the clouds began to reach downwards towards those gathered.

Noctis turned to Iris. "Cover your ears."

Garuda screamed a battle cry, heard all the way to Old Lestallum, and with a blinding surge of light, a twister formed from nothing in the skies above Ravatogh - with Aranea's magitek engine in its eye. Through the roar of the gales could be heard the mechanical warnings of the imperial ships, and the enemies around them began to plummet towards the mountain, crashing where the heat would rend their power sources and drive them to ignition.

Aranea watched the devastation with a slackened grip on her lance; Noctis turned with a grin to face Garuda, who had a similar smirk on her face. As the twister began to fade out, so too did its evoker, and the dragoon turned to Noctis. "Hot damn, Majesty," she conceded. "I wasn't expecting you to call in the Six."

"She's _not_ one of the Six," Gladio corrected.

"What."

"A Messenger, associated with the power of wind," Ignis enlightened her. "Her true name has been lost to the ages, and she's taken to calling herself 'Garuda' of late."

Iris glanced around at the empty skies around them. "If  **that** was a Messenger," she exclaimed, "I pity whoever gets you to call in an Astral."

Aranea shook her head. "No kidding." She started towards the bay door end. "Alright, I'm gonna get us back to safer ground. Hold on tight."

_Thank you, Chosen King._

Garuda's voice in his mind had Noctis raising his gaze. "Sorry?"

_It has been so long since I have spoken with her. You have done me a great kindness these past days._

"Wh..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Draco's biggest reason for being pissed about the cancelled XV DLC Episodes? He wanted a spear from Episode Aranea, and was hoping Episode Lunafreya or Episode Ardyn would give him a shield. No Aranea, no Lunafreya, and Ardyn gave him another greatsword. (I could've sworn it would be a one-hander from Ardyn, but apparently he and Somnus can swing around huge blades with one hand)


	6. Will Remain, Remain in Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Wasn't sure whether to go by the translated lyrics of Advent or by Sephiroth's reference to them. Went with the lyrics to maintain the theme.

"That's another one I owe you."

Aranea's magitek engine was en route back towards Hammerhead, taking the prince and his retinue to their car again. At Noctis' comment, the Dragoon turned to face him with a look of confusion. "Another one?" she asked. "What was the first one?"

Noctis cursed inwardly for his own forgetfulness; the astral memory was frozen at a point before he'd taken Leviathan's trial, and in Lucis possibly before he'd even left for Altissia. "Um, you know, there was that time in the Vesperpool."

"You think following my orders at the time is worth thanking me for?" Aranea accused.

"I don't totally buy that there would've been nothing in it for you if you'd turned me in," Noctis admitted.

"Whatever you say, Majesty."

A buzz from Noctis' pocket had him drawing out his phone. This time, answering the call got a voice rather than text.  _"Hey, Highness, everybody alright?"_

"Hey," Noctis returned. "Yeah, we're okay."

 _"Well, I'm glad to hear_ _that,"_ Cindy admitted. _"About your car..."_

"Gah, I was supposed to pay you up front," Noctis muttered.

Cindy laughed into the line.  _"Don't you worry none,"_ she insisted,  _"I made an exception."_   Out the corner of his eye, he saw Y'jhimei looking at him intently enough that he reckoned her ears were picking up the other end of his conversation. _"Y'all've proven trustworthy enough. And besides, I found some pretty nice collateral in the back seat in case ya don't pay up."_

"Back seat..." Noctis remembered the ore Gladio had pointed out. "Oh, that rock?"

 _"Prince, this ain't no rock,"_ Cindy reprimanded.  _"This is adamantite."_

Noctis started. "A-A.... Ada..?"

 _"You know, oretoise shell,"_ Cindy elaborated. _"Well, not exactly 'shell', I guess, it's a couple layers in. Thought I felt a shake the night you got the paint job, but I just chalked it up to Longwythe not havin' totally quieted down yet."_

Slowly, Noctis covered his phone with one hand, turning to Y'jhimei. She had a similarly shocked expression on her face, and the prince quickly whispered, "Do you remember picking a fight with an adamantoise?"

"I have  _no recollection,_ " Y'jhimei denied.

"You realize what that means, don't you?"

"I think so."

Noctis raised the phone back to his ear. "Um... You can keep that," he insisted.

 _"You sure?"_ Cindy asked.  _"Paw-paw sees a chunk of this stuff, he's never gonna sleep again."_

"If it's all the same to you," Noctis insisted, "I really don't want to think about how I got that."

 _"Well, alright, then consider your bill paid."_  Cindy sounded like she wasn't totally sure about it, but didn't press matters. _"Anyways, I got the old girl back to black, so pick her up any time."_

"We're on our way," Noctis assured her.

As he hung up, Iris approached Aranea. "Um, can we drop off a little bit sooner?" she asked. "I think we left a car near the blockade between Liede and Duscae."

"I'm not landing," Aranea reprimanded, "can you hit the ground safely if we're still in the air?"

* * *

Gladio and Iris descended on the extra vehicle, and Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, and Y'jhimei continued to Hammerhead in Aranea's engine; as soon as the Prince and his retinue were on solid ground, the Dragoon took off again. The Regalia had her beautiful dark hues again, and after some debate Ignis insisted on paying in gil and taking the adamantite. Cindy's relief thereat quieted Prompto's objections before they began, and once the Amicitias had arrived, they had their conversation on what to do next.

"Well, we've gotta get back to Caem," Iris insisted. "This is Monica's car, and besides, she's gonna have my ass after how long I've been gone."

"Why don't you guys take her there," Noctis mused. "I'll take Y'jhimei back to Perpetouss Keep and pick you up."

Iris looked somewhat miffed. "Something wrong with another convoy?" she asked.

"For one thing, 'convoy' makes me think about something I hated," Noctis admitted. "For another, it's a bit of a detour to Perpetouss, and the less detours you made before getting back, the less your lateness is your fault."

"...Alright," Iris conceded, "but why can't I just take the car myself?"

"Because that way I have an excuse to swing by," Noctis assured her.

A smile rose on Iris' face at that. "Okay," she agreed. "See you there!"

She, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto climbed into the vehicle as Noctis approached the Regalia. A glance at the fuel gauge had Noctis deciding to gas up before they left, meaning that Monica's car was well out of view before he and Y'jhimei had left Hammerhead. A drive past Longwythe Peak didn't  _show_ any indications of the adamantoise having taken a beatdown, but Noctis wasn't sure how else he was supposed to have gotten a chunk of adamantite.

"...So," Y'jhimei asked as they drove through the Longwythe Rest Area, "did you have any  _other_ reasons for wanting the rest of them to go with Iris?"

"I don't intend to repeat what we woke up to on the Vesperpool, if that's what you're asking," Noctis insisted, keeping his eyes on the road.

Y'jhimei's face turned red. "That's not what I meant," she insisted. "You didn't want Gladio to see your ring... you've been talking to your phone when it's not talking back... you've got a lot more of those crystal swords than you did when you helped me with the Ixal... and that one you threw at me is the only katana I've even seen in this world."

Noctis slowed the Regalia, pulling over to the side of the road.

"So... are you really here, or...?"

With a sigh, Noctis shifted the car into park.

"I have no idea," he admitted. "I feel what happens here, and I remember it all, but... I don't know how much of it is real."

"What do you mean?" Y'jhimei asked.

Noctis drew out the Ring of the Lucii from his pocket. "There's a Messenger, who I can call to my side when I'm at a place I know is safe," he explained. "Nothing dramatic like Garuda, just a dog that's easily mistaken for someone's pet. He'll bring me back here, to Lucis. It's called 'astral memory'. And when I'm ready to continue with what needs to be done, he'll bring me back to the present." He slipped the ring onto his finger. "But... I don't know if what I do here has any lasting effects in the real world. For all I know, I'm gonna be the only one who remembers having been drunk that night in the Keep."

He shifted the Regalia to drive and resumed their path towards Perpetouss.

"...I don't totally know if I would mind forgetting," Y'jhimei admitted. "I'd probably spend weeks  _trying_ to forget anyways. But I can see how that kinda bites."

"You're taking this well," Noctis observed.

"Hey, I'm in a world so far removed from my own that you guys didn't know what a primal was," Y'jhimei countered. "Your idea of magic is to put thaumaturgy in a ball and throw it at the target hard enough for the casing to break. Your weapons don't exist when you don't need them, you've got paths forcibly carved through the landscape, and you can apparently kill a scalekin the size of a mountain while  _drunk_."

Noctis raised his ring hand. "I'm gonna chalk that last one up to the fact that I woke up wearing this thing," he insisted.

" _Whatever_ ," Y'jhimei reprimanded. "My point is, this world is _weird_. This 'astral memory' thing you've got going on? Not a big deal in comparison."

* * *

The rest of the ride continued in relative silence; the Regalia reached Perpetouss Keep without so much as a magitek engine flying overhead. Noctis brought the car into a U-turn and backed up towards the keep gates, and Y'jhimei hopped out. "Thanks for the ride," she praised. "Want one last survey of the drink site?"

"What am I gonna get out of surveying the campfire where I got drunk?" Noctis argued.

Y'jhimei shrugged. "At the very least, you'll find out what liquor hit you so hard, and know to avoid it when you get back to the real world."

"That's..." Noctis' gaze fell, and he quickly shifted the Regalia to park, "...actually a pretty good point."

He got out of the car as Y'jhimei stepped up to the gates, slowly pulling them open. Her smile vanished as she realized there was someone else inside - a woman in a long black gown, with white trails from the sleeves. Her hands were folded before her, and she was facing the gate, her eyes closed.

"Oh, uh... I'm terribly sorry, miss," the Miqo'te said hastily. "I should have put the covers back on to make it clear the trading post was-"

Noctis' hand on her shoulder silenced her, and as she turned he stepped forward. "Gentiana."

A serene smile rose on Gentiana's face as she nodded quietly.

"...I didn't want to ask before," the King conceded. "I was worried about being... tempted. But now I have to know. What happens in the astral memory... How much affects the real world? Do I...?"

Gentiana shook her head, and that wordless motion had Noctis fall silent; then she began to walk, speaking as she did.

"Should the King be met here with a terrible fate, he would be found by those dear to him to have perished while he slumbered. Should his companions be met with such a fate in his stead, the King would need endure the wrath of the Messengers ere he could return, where he would find that death had found those companions amidst their dreams. For a life to be taken in the astral memory carries as much weight as the loss of a life in the waking world."

Noctis' gaze fell. He had suspected this.

"However... should both King and companions weather the astral memory wounded at most, the effects on the waking world amount to newfound limitations, as consequence for the most dire of actions."

Y'jhimei stepped forward. "Wait, what do you mean... limitations?"

In response, Gentiana turned towards the gate leading to the area where the Solheimian teleporter resided.

"Historian from another world, you chose to bar your path home. To safeguard this world that it might suffer no further intrusions from worlds beyond, at the cost of preventing you from ever returning to your own. This choice would never have occurred to you, had you chosen to return ere the King walked now in the astral memory. Henceforth, should you mean to return, or others mean to force you to return, they will find your path barred - not in the same manner, but with the same result."

Y'jhimei raised a finger towards the gate. "So, the teleporter isn't really blown up... but it won't ever work again?"

Noctis turned to her. "That's an oversimplification, but that pretty much sums it up."

"Should you meet in the waking world, those you have met only while the King walked now in the astral memory; should you find yourself in circumstances such as those you have only experienced by his hand; you will find a familiarity, but be unable to recall the events that occurred to result therein. Such will be for all who were touched by these events."

Gentiana now turned her closed gaze upon Noctis.

"But the absence of recollection in the waking world does not alter the truth of the astral memory. The King has brought these events to occur, and those actions cannot be withdrawn. The King, the Messengers, the Hexatheon, and the dead. What you have done will be remembered - not by the waking world at large, but by those who walk in the grace of the gods."

"...I understand," Noctis conceded. "I won't try to deny what I've done. I just wanted to know how much it would change."

Frost began to gather around Gentiana's feet, and Y'jhimei yelped in surprise.

"Go forth, O King, knowing that the dead understand the circumstances of what has transpired."

Noctis closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"And have my thanks, for delivering upon the ruins of Solheim's necropolis, a reunion long postponed."

Those words sparked a realization, and Noctis' gaze shot up to find Gentiana had vanished.

Y'jhimei grabbed his shoulder. "What's... on that lake where we woke up?"

"The lake..." Noctis turned to the ice that had been at the Glacian's feet. "...Gentiana? And Garuda? At the _Vesperpool_?" He aimed a finger at the gate leading out of the Keep. " _With the **Regalia**!?_"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> Rejected line from Noctis: "it's a bit of a detour to Perpetouss, and I think we'd all rather spare as much of your ass as possible."


	7. What the Hell Went On 'Round There Last Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> No, he doesn't have the balls to write something like this. He DOES have the balls to spend $50 on a commission from a friend on dA about the opening scene, and when he hears that she hasn't seen the story through, describe it in enough detail for her to draw it perfectly because I opened the chapter with Noct rambling about the endgame. Well frickin' played, Draco.  
> https://www.deviantart.com/anonymouswind/art/Noctis-Y-jhimei-Commission-796588815
> 
> Once again, don't just want to put up a chapter for something minor that fits in an author's comment, so here's a few hazy glimpses of what happened the night Noct got back to the astral memory, bleeding into the morning after.

"Open... Open, you stupid door."

Noctis had his hands on the peak of the Regalia's driver side door as Y'jhimei stepped out of Perpetouss Keep. She'd insisted that Noct get his ride ready while she closed up her trading post, yet now she closed the gates behind her to find he was still trying to get in. On one hand, Y'jhimei understood to a degree that vehicles in Eos had doors for a reason, and vaulting them to get inside was considered rude.

On the other, she was kind of surprised that she had to come up to him, stop his wrestling with the car, and remind him about the door's handle.

After ten seconds of glaring at the door, Noctis pulled back, starting towards the rear end of the car. "Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope. I can't. I'm not allowed in that seat."

"Why not?" Y'jhimei asked.

"Because I'm too drunk to remember about the  _doorknob_ ," Noct slurred, aiming both hands at the handle of the driver's door. "If I drive, we're gonna go through a river, watch a bunch of catoblepaseses dancing, and then get stuck in a tree. You drive."

He circled around the car as Y'jhimei sputtered at him. "Didn't think the princey king would be a lightweight."

"Nnnn! Mmm." Noctis was halfway through an objection, thought better of it, and waved his ring at Y'jhimei. "Yeah, whatever. At least I  _know_  when I'm a lightweight."

Y'jhimei shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I'll drive."

She opened the door, swirled around it, and sat down in the driver's seat with a little too much momentum; a light yelp emerged as she ended up catching her tail between her back and the corner of the console. As she righted herself, she swung her legs in and closed the door, and as Noct opened the opposite door she looked over the interface.

"How do you turn this thing on?"

* * *

Thank the Six for the lack of traffic in Eos' nightlight; Y'jhimei was barely avoiding running into the highway barriers, and more then once ended up driving a little bit off the road when there were none. They drove aimlessly for a while, heading into Liede, and as they passed through the Longwhythe Rest Area, Noctis reached forward and slammed his hands against the windshield. "Ohhh! Stop stop stop stop!"

Y'jhimei pulled over - to use the term loosely, as she braked in mid-motion, skidded over, and stopped on the left side of the road. "What is it?"

"That rock."

"Which rock?"

"That rock!"

"What, this rock?"

"No, no, no, the big rock!" Noctis insisted, aiming a finger at the faintly-visible silhouette against the night sky.

"You mean that mountain?" Y'jhimei asked.

"Yeah, mountain, whatever." With a bit of argument, Noctis opened the passenger side door. "I remember there's something big sleeping in that mountain. We can go fight that."

With a smile, Y'jhimei opened her own door, hopping out of the Regalia. "Sounds good to me. Maybe we can- Yah!" She cut herself off as the Regalia started to roll forward. "What are you doing!?"

"Shit, you didn't park her!" Noctis dashed forward, intending to circle around the hood and get in the driver's side - completely failing to notice that it was accelerating. He ended up resorting to seizing the hood and grinding his feet against the ground in an effort to stop the car; this didn't bring it to a halt, but it did slow it down enough that Y'jhimei was able to jump in the open driver's side door, put one hand on the brake pedal, and shift gears.

It started going in reverse before she managed to shift it to park.

"Alrighty." Y'jhimei stumbled out of the car, and Noctis reached in and turned it off before she shut the door. "So, how you gonna wake up this big thing in the mountain?"

Noctis stumbled forward a couple steps. "I was thinking of doing it a little bit with these..." He swung his ring hand to the side, and ended up stumbling into a 200-degree turn as the phantom swords of his Armiger appeared around him.

"Oh, yeeeeaaaah," Y'jhimei mused, "you got those shiny swords."

"Haha, 'shiny swords'," Noctis chortled. "You're both funny." He started to turn right, thought better of it, and turned back around to the left so he was facing Longwythe Peak. "Now, where's his head again? His head was..."

He leapt into the air, and the royal arms went still around him, turned their blades towards the base of the mountain beneath its forward point, and soared forward.

And Noctis fell back to the ground.

"Huh?" He angled his head to the side. "Am I not allowed to go that fa-"

He was cut off as he vanished in a blur of blue particles, forming a straight line to the rock that made Y'jhimei yelp. "What the...? Noctis?"

Noctis had found himself slamming against something on the mountain's base. Then a tremor shook Liede, and as he was making sense of his surroundings, the surface he was leaning against started to move. Once again, he futilely grabbed it and dug his heels into the ground in an effort to stop it from moving forward, this time making not so much as the slightest slowdown in the process.

It takes more than that to stop an adamantoise, after all.

_I'm surprised at how severely I regret this decision._

Y'jhimei shrieked as she saw the mountain start to  **move** \- its peak rotating, a pair of massive fins extending out the side, and from the fore where Noctis had aimed his swords, a titanic reptilian  **head.**

"Oh. Oh, no! Oh, freaking  _Twelve that's a **turtle!**_ "

* * *

Several hours and one stop at Hammerhead later, Y'jhimei was driving - on Noctis' instruction - west out of Liede, through Duscae and Cleigne, to the massive lake known as the Vesperpool. There were a good few close calls with the walls of the multiple tunnels they went through, and more than one near-miss with an oncoming car - but as the sun was coming up, the Miqo'te was driving the car along the shore of the Vesperpool.

"Wooo," she praised. "This place looks fun."

"Uh-huh," Noctis confirmed, aiming around the lake to indicate locations as he spoke. "Ruins on one side, a forest on the other, and a whole lot of water in between. Little something for everybody."

Y'jhimei ended up parking the Regalia near the path to the Myrlwood - far, far away from anything resembling a road. "Let's check out this forest, then," she mused. "I wanna see what's in here."

Noctis opened the door, took one step, and found himself slipping in the mud. His back collided roughly with the base of the Reglia's door. "Watch where you park," he slurred.

"Yeah, because I know  **sooo** much about parking and driving, Mister Princey-King-Lightweight," Y'jhimei countered.

"Shut up," Noctis muttered. "Let's just get going and-"

He was cut off by a snarling sound that stopped him in his tracks - and yelped when he saw the mandrakes at the edge of the Myrlwood that seemed to have been provoked by the Regalia's arrival. "Oh, shit! Run!"

"What are those!?" Y'jhimei protested.

"Something that goes really fast and can't swim!" Noctis insisted. "Get in the water! There's an island in the middle!"

Y'jhimei dashed around the Regalia to chase after him as he charged towards the shore. "How do you know that!?"

"Shut up and run!" Noctis insisted, diving into the tide; Y'jhimei only hesitated for a second before dashing after him.

They hadn't gone very far, however, before something rose in the water, and Noctis splashed to a stop on recognizing the fins and the amphibian faces each pair was connected to. "Shit shit!" he yelped. "Sahagins! This way!"

"That's not a sahagin!" Y'jhimei protested, though she veered her swim path after him anyways.

They were just reaching water shallow enough to stand in when more of the same creatures were on the shore, and Noctis skidded to a panicking stop. "Oh, for shit's sake," he muttered, "what is up today?"

Y'jhimei grabbed his arm. "Break the world open!" she insisted.

"That takes too long, they're gonna rip my arm off first!" Noctis protested.

"Then what do we do?"

"I don't know!"

"What do we do!?"

" _I don't know!_ "

" _What do we do!?_ "

" **I don't know!** "

Lights began to appear as the sahagins and mandrakes were nearing, and Noctis' gaze shot in every direction before he saw her - a figure in a long dress, standing on the island in the middle of the lake.

His eyes lit up red. " **Help!** "

Winds began to blow all of a sudden as he uttered that word - and as the woman began to step towards him, the gales brought the Vesperpool into a torrent of waves. As her feet connected with the water, it froze beneath her steps; from clouds above that had not been there a few minutes ago, a winged figure dove down, whirling as she fell. She righted herself near to the water; the woman in the dress turned to face her, her eyes opening with a smile, and the winged figure returned it with a smirk, both recognizing the other after so long.

Gentiana lifted off the ground, her dress crystallizing and falling away as her skin was tinged with frostbite, and Garuda raised her taloned hands skyward that the winds would intensify. Multiple figures of the Glacian surrounded the Messenger of Winds as the Vesperpool raged, and twisters began to form, bringing the water to into raging waves as it did; the Frostbearers dove through waves, freezing them in mid-crash as one came up at Garuda's side, sweeping left and then right before turning into a spin and lashing her hand forward in time with Garuda's cry.

Wind and ice lashed forward in a fierce blizzard, throwing the water into a storm and freezing it in mid-rage; as the combined assault rushed the shore, the trees were frosted, the Reaglia covered in snow, and the creatures that threatened Noctis and Y'jhimei were assaulted by blades of icy wind until they fell limp around the two.

The figures ascended heavenward as their work finished, and Garuda only folded her wings around her as she faded away.

Y'jhimei gasped, aiming a finger at the frozen lake before turning to Nocits. "Was that Shiva?"

"Uh... yeah," Noctis admitted. "Kinda."

"But...  ** _what!?_** " Y'jhimei looked almost angry. "Shiva's a primal! How can you summon a primal?"

"No, Shiva's an  _Astral_ ," Noctis corrected. "Well, I mean, she's also a Messenger, but there she was an Astral."

"What the hell is wrong with this world that you know the primals and call them something else?!" Y'jhimei protested. "Next you're gonna tell me Bahamut has knives instead of fire breath!"

"Swords, not knives," Noctis reprimanded.

" _Huuuuh-_ uh-uh-uh-uh!" Y'jhimei's protest of anger faded into a shivering stutter as her hands crossed before herself. "Ok-k-kay, now I'm c-c-cold."

"Y-Yeah," Noctis confirmed, starting to shake himself. "The ad-drenaline's g-gone, now the alc-cohol's mak-king us c-cold. G-get in the c-car..."

They quickly climbed back into the Regalia, and Noctis raised the hood. Attempting to heat up the interior had the vents blasting cold air at them, causing Y'jhimei to shriek as she started to drive. "What's wrong with you!?"

"I'm trying to turn the heat on, shut up," Noctis muttered. Then, glancing out the window; "What are you doing?"

"It's faster to go over instead of around," Y'jhimei insisted. "The ice can handle this if it was put here by a primal."

"Astral."

"Primal."

" _Astral._ "

"Shit!" Y'jhimei braked hard, throwing Noctis into the door. "The Messenger one made the ice too everywhere."

"Stupid," Noctis reprimanded. "Now what!?"

Y'jhimei parked the car and wrapped her arms around her. "Now I'm still cold!" she protested. "I mean, the wind's starting to warm up, but it's not helping!"

Noctis' gaze fell. "I remember something like this," he muttered. "Wet cloth gets cold and stay cold. If we're gonna..." He turned, climbing into the back seat.

"What are you doing?"

Noctis hurled a boot into the front seat, followed quickly by his other boot, his socks, and a chunk of rock. The lattermost bounced off the dashboard and landed in Y'jhimei's lap, who knocked it to the floor before climbing after him.

"What are  _you_ doing!?"

"Shut up, I'm cold and there's something between me and the vents back here!"

"You're gonna stay cold if you stay in wet cloth!"

"Well, fine, scootch over then!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aurya-  
> [Draco has several half-baked fanfic outlines about the cancelled DLC episodes]  
> [we discover that Square has released a novel version of said episodes]  
> Draco: That looks worth looking into.  
> Me: You're gonna regret it.  
> Draco: No I'm not.  
> Me: Yes you are.  
> Draco: I'm not.  
> Me: You are.  
> Draco: I'm not.  
> Me: You are.  
> Draco: You're probably right.  
> [reads the synopsis on the wiki]  
> Draco: THIS is why I don't write in-continuity fanfics for games with ongoing DLC. If I even entertain the idea, I start speculating, I start constructing plots, I start coming up with dialogue. If I go through with it, I'm gonna look like those douchebags who tried to write Kingdom Hearts III back before DDD came out and everything I write is gonna get #Jossed!  
> Me: Told you.


End file.
